1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dual-bearing reel configured to forwardly reel out a fishing line and a pinion gear for the dual-bearing reel.
2. Background Art
A dual-bearing reel is provided with a clutch mechanism for switching between a coupled state of allowing transmission of handle rotation to a spool and a decoupled state of preventing transmission of handle rotation to the spool. The clutch mechanism is composed of a clutch pin and a pinion gear. The clutch pin is attached to a spool shaft. The pinion gear is a tubular member having a groove to be engaged with the clutch pin. The pinion gear is configured to be moved in a spool shaft direction, and thereby functions as a clutch mechanism. Further, the pinion gear is meshed with a drive gear configured to be rotated in conjunction with a handle, and thereby functions also as a rotation transmission mechanism configured to rotate the spool. The pinion gear is mounted to the outer peripheral side of the spool shaft, while being rotatable and axially movable. Japan Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2009-82027 describes an exemplary well-known dual-bearing reel with a structure that the pinion gear is supported by bearings for enhancing the fishing-line winding performance of the spool. The well-known dual-bearing reel includes a pair of bearings and a pair of collars. The bearings are disposed on the both ends of the pinion gear. The collars are tubular members made of synthetic resin, and are respectively disposed radially between the bearings and the pinion gear. With the structure, slide resistance can be reduced when the pinion gear is axially moved in a clutch operation. Operating force required in the clutch operation can be thereby reduced.